ARTICLES ABOUT INSURANCE DEPARTMENT BY DATE - PAGE 5

Bethlehem insurance agent Juergen Besecke will have to win a court battle to get back his license to sell. The Pennsylvania Insurance Commission on Friday denied reinstatement of Besecke's license while he appeals the commission's license revocation to court. In her five-page order, Insurance Commissioner Linda S. Kaiser said Besecke failed to meet any of four requirements that would have allowed him to resume insurance sales. For the regulatory agency to lift his license suspension, Besecke had to show that he is likely to prevail in court on the merits of his appeal, that he will be irreparably injured by the revocation, that he would not substantially harm other people if he got his license back, and that having the license would not adversely affect the public interest.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department is seeking to prevent Juergen Besecke of Bethlehem from selling insurance while he appeals his license revocation. In a 15-page brief filed Monday with the state Insurance Commission, Insurance Department counsel Jeffrey P. Soderstedt said that Besecke had "violated a myriad of insurance laws on at least 39 separate and distinct occasions," which led to the revocation of his license and a fine of $39,000, the most severe penalty the commission could have imposed short of referring the case for criminal prosecution to the state attorney general.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department provides the following general guidelines to consumers purchasing insurance: Never deal with a salesperson who is "just passing through." The agent may not be available to provide service when you need it. Be sure to obtain the agent's name, address and phone number. Be wary of an agent who refuses to give his or her name and company affiliation or leave a business card. Ask the agent about his or her qualifications, experience, education and licensing in insurance.

Car owners rely on auto mechanics to tell them what is wrong with their vehicles. Sick people depend on doctors to tell them what is wrong with their bodies. And when it comes to insurance, people trust their agents to tell them what policies they need and what coverage they are getting. Insurance agent Juergen Besecke of Upper Saucon Township was found by the state Insurance Department in Harrisburg to have breached that trust with 11 clients, all of whom were named in a March 11 decision, by repeatedly selling them insurance they didn't need.

The Bethlehem insurance agent whose license was revoked last week embezzled only one payment of a client that was to be used for an insurance premium, according to an order issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance. Juergen Besecke deposited a $16,000 check from Cynthia Das of Trucksville, Luzerne County, into his personal account instead of the retirement account for which it was intended, according to the Insurance Department.

The Bethlehem insurance agent whose license was revoked after authorities found he had fleeced clients of several hundred thousand dollars has appealed the ruling to Commonwealth Court. Juergen Besecke, 49, of J.A. Besecke Associates maintains in his appeal filed Tuesday that the state Insurance Department's revocation was not "supported by substantial evidence" and that the order is "arbitrary and capricious." Besecke also has applied to state Insurance Commissioner Linda S. Kaiser to reinstate his license during the appeal.

The state Insurance Department has revoked the license of a Bethlehem insurance agent who it says bilked clients out of several hundred thousand dollars. Juergen Besecke of J.A. Besecke Associates was also fined $39,000 in the ruling handed down a week ago. Besecke embezzled payments that were supposed to be used for insurance premiums and paid himself higher commissions by repeatedly increasing policy limits and switching insurance companies, according to the Insurance Department.

A Northampton insurance agency is being investigated by the state on allegations the agency violated state insurance laws. Crystal Hull, state Insurance Department press secretary, said yesterday that Edward Winkelbauer of Winkelbauer Insurance, 1216 Main St., is being investigated by her agency, which has received one complaint so far. "We are aware of the allegations and we are looking into it," she said. A source close to the investigation, who asked not to be identified, said the investigation involves many clients of the Winkelbauer agency.

Insurance companies cannot deny coverage to victims of domestic violence under a new law signed by Gov. Tom Ridge. "I am very pleased," said Rep. Patricia H. Vance, R-Cumberland County. Vance worked for nearly four years to move the bill through the Legislature. Ridge signed it last Thursday. Yesterday the governor joined Vance and other advocates in a public ceremony announcing the new law. "In Pennsylvania it is now against the law for insurance companies to penalize an individual because they are a victim of domestic violence," the governor said.

State legislators with financial ties to insurance companies serve on committees responsible for crafting laws regulating the industry, according to a national study released by the Consumer Federation of America. "This is an egregious example in many states of a conflict of interest that harms the public," said Stephen Brobeck, the federation's executive director. The Washington-based organization surveyed 10 states, including Pennsylvania, and found that at least 52 of the 278 legislators on insurance committees have professional affiliations with the insurance industry.